Mother Mary said at Fatima: "My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the sure way which will lead you to God." St. Thomas Aquinas said: "The things we love tell us who we are!" With that in mind, I will try to post each day something about Our Blessed Lady, items about the Holy Roman Catholic Church, and public domain Catholic books too! I pray you enjoy my ministry!
Below are two albums of pictures that I created:
1. Our grand daughter Adrianna.
2. Tears of Mary!

Saturday, October 31, 2009

AS our vehicle traversed the French countryside this week, the words of John Paul II rolled through my mind like the hills surrounding Liseux, the "home" of St. Thérèse to which we were headed:

Holy people alone can renew humanity. —POPE JOHN PAUL II,Message to the Youth of the World, World Youth Day; n. 7; Cologne Germany, 2005

These words came on the heels of having visited some of the most fantastic cathedrals in all of Christendom, such as the one in Chartres, France. In that massive Gothic church, I was overwhelmed with the incredible faith and zeal that could have possibly created such a testament to the splendor of God—an outward expression of the inner life of France… an interior faith and love that has produced a litany of Saints. Yet, at the same time, I was struck with a terrible sorrow and wonderment: How, I asked over and over, could we in the Western nations go from creating such glorious structures, stained glass windows, and sacred art… to abandoning and closing our churches, destroying our statues and crucifixes, and extinguishing much of the mystery of God in our prayer and liturgy? The answer came silently as I could see with the eyes of my soul how this beauty, while at once inspiring saints, also corrupted men who bent the awe and power of our Catholic heritage to their own advantage. I understood at once that the Catholic Church, despite her holiness and providential role in the plan of salvation, has experienced in her long history the rise and fall of many Judases. They have welcomed her Joan of Arcs, and also burned them at the stake.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Zenit.org).- Pius XII today is often associated with the debate surrounding his assistance to Jews during World War II. But as his first encyclical turned 70 this month, a conference was held to reflect on one of the truly momentous contributions of this Pope to history: his Marian devotion and doctrine.

Last Friday on the Washington Post blog, “On Faith,” English atheist Richard Dawkins said the Catholic Church was “surely up there among the leaders” as “the greatest force for evil in the world.” He labeled the Eucharist a “cannibal feast,” adding that “possession of testicles is an essential qualification to perform the rite.” He also blamed the Church for sending missionaries “out to tell deliberate lies to AIDS-weakened Africans” regarding condoms. The Church’s outreach to Anglicans, he said, makes it “a common pimp,” noting that those who convert “will be joining an institution where buggering altar boys pervades the culture.”

On Saturday, a Los Angeles Times editorial said that “church leaders, including popes, have changed their thinking over the years about everything from usury to the culpability of Jews for the Crucifixion….” It concluded, “You don’t have to be Catholic (or Anglican) to realize that society as a whole would be better off if the church’s views of women and gays underwent a similar evolution.”

On Sunday, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd recalled that when she was in grade school, “Nuns were second-class citizens then and–40 years after feminism utterly changed America—they still are.” She called Pope Benedict XVI the “uber-conservative pope,” a.k.a. “God’s Rottweiler,” who was once “a conscripted member of the Hitler Youth.” She also accused the Church of enabling “rampant pedophilia.”

On Monday, James Carroll in the Boston Globe called the outreach to Anglicans “a cruel assault,” “an insult to loyal Catholic liberals” and “a slap at women and homosexuals.” He characterized the outreach as a “preemptive exploitation of Anglican distress.”

These deranged comments—all voiced in America’s premier newspapers—demonstrate that anti-Catholicism is the most virulent expression of bigotry in the U.S. It also shows why these newspapers, quite unlike the Catholic Church, are dying. As for the writers, they need to go to church. Either that or check into an asylum.

My beloved ones, I love you this day this way. I died for you. I want you to know how I am waiting for you, My most beloved ones, to come and sit with Me after Communion. Do not offend My aching Heart by leaving in such indifference and discussing the weather. You have a free will I gave to you freely. I can only beg you, but you do not listen. You want what you want. Nothing, nothing can compare to time spent with Jesus Christ, truly present in your heart after Communion.

Be with Me, stay with Me, be silent with Me. Read My letters on how I love you. I wait, I wait, I wait, I yearn, I long for you, My loved ones. Oh, please do not run! Such indifference! Sit with Me at least 20 minutes. Stay. I long for you, My beloved ones. I come to you. I enter your breast. I am God. I beg you. Your will is free. You do not hear because you do not want to hear Me, My cry coming to you. What can be more important than God in your breast? I will fill you with such gifts you will never know. Please stay with Me. Do not treat Me with such indifference. I love you so! Jesus.

R. We are one body, one body in Christ. We are one in Him. He is one in us. This is the intimacy we have with Jesus. We become intimate with each other in our oneness with each other as we are joined in Christ. He is the vine, we are the branches. All who live in Him will bear great fruit.

Jesus: Unite, My children, become one in Me. You must stay connected in My love. Strive for oneness. Satan is division. He wants to separate you. You cannot separate yourselves. We must be as one body.

Such intimacy you can achieve in Me! Strive for oneness with Me, and oneness with one another will follow. As you love Me, truly you, too, will love one another. Do not separate yourselves in any way from one another. Pray to be united, united in Me and My love. I died to bring you life. Stay one in Me and I in you. A body has many members. You must be one. Do not curse or shun one another. Be as your own body. You would not cut off your hand. The body functions when all its parts are working in harmony.

Unite, My beloved ones. Do not separate and hate each other. Love one another as I have loved you. I laid down My life, given freely for you.

This life is so very short, here today, gone tomorrow. Nothing will be achieved if you separate. Love one another. Stay united in love. This is My command to you. All else is of no account. Love God, love one another, and My Father will bless you and I will come and dwell in your hearts!

I love you, My beloved ones. Strive after holiness. Just try, try to be as I have taught you. Strive after holiness, model yourself on My actions. In all things be Christ-like. Little ones, you make life hard for yourself. It is so simple: love, love, love!

"No human eye can see what God does in the soul during hours of inner prayer."

The Hidden Life, (ICS Publications: 1992), 6.

Meditation:

My Ideal Jesus Son of Mary, a book written by Fr. Emil Neubert of the Marianists, teaches the reader to become transformed into Jesus by learning to think the thoughts and perform the actions of Mary. The book teaches the reader to be like Mary who pondered all these things in her heart. St. Maximilian Kolbe thought very highly of this book. In a letter he declared that My Ideal sums up the charism of his order.

My Ideal is written in a conversational style. Mary and Jesus speak to the soul. The most important recommendation made in this book is to have a daily conversation with Jesus.

My Ideal:

"Speak to Him directly, without any set formula of prayer. Tell Him in all simplicity what you are thinking, what you are feeling, and what you desire, just as you would speak to a brother or an intimate friend.Do not forget to unite yourself to me in these intimate conversations with Jesus. As yourself will find out, you will be less recollected, less at ease, less loving with Him, when you do not feel me near you."

"Our daily schedule ensures us of hours for solitary dialogue with the Lord, and these are the foundation of our life. Together with priests and other ancient orders of the church, we pray the Liturgy of the Hours, and this Divine Office is for us as for them our first and most sacred duty. But it is not for us the supporting ground. No human eye can see what God does in the soul during hours of inner prayer. It is grace upon grace. And all of life's other hours are our thanks for them."

The Hidden Life, (ICS Publications: 1992), 6.

Resolution:

Today, I will make time to have a conversation with the Lord even if it is a very short visit. In imitation of St. Benedicta of the Cross, I will offer my time of formal prayer (Rosary or breviary) as a thanksgiving for my time spent with the Lord.

Marian Vow:

From My Ideal Jesus Son of Mary

"Offer her every one of your occupations, but do not reduce that offering to a mere formula. Do nothing but what she wishes, because she wishes it, and as she wishes it. Be on your guard lest your whims, your evil tendencies, your personal interests supplant your original intention. Above all, in the occupations which tend to absorb or trouble you, be careful to renounce all self-seeking, so that you may act only according to the intentions of Mary. Learn, little by little, to renew your offering during the course of your actions, even if only by a look."

Monday, October 26, 2009

have given of their own heart and soul to deepen and strengthen my own. I pray especially for those who have walked alongside me when I have not been a faithful friend myself. When I feel alone, remind me that my friends are one your greatest gifts of grace to me. Let me be to them what they are to me. I ask this for the sake of your love. Amen.

The Medjugorje Marian Apparitions

A Visitation From the Blessed Virgin Mary in Bosnia and Herzegovina

American pilot Captain Scott O'Grady experienced his own Marian Visitation, while shot down over Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1995.

Jesus' mother Mary is venerated at major religious sites around the world where it is claimed that she has appeared. In many places the witnesses to these appearances have claimed that important messages were given by the Virgin Mary.

Some of these Marian visitations are approved by the Catholic Church while others have not garnered enough supportable evidence. Regardless, for the faithful, these appearances are a powerful example of God's continuing presence in the world.

One such visitation occurred in the town of in Medjugorje Bosnia and Herzegovina, on June 24, 1981.

Our Lady of Medjugorje is the title given to Mary by those who believe that she appeared to six Herzegovinian Croat children. While the Catholic Church has not recognized this as an official Marian visitation declaring that it cannot be affirmed that the reported apparitions are supernatural in character, this particular appearance has a unique American connection.

Dear ones, I am calling you to love your brothers. I have loved you. Would you, dear ones, lay down your lives for your brothers? How are you loving this day? Are you following Christ in your actions? I am the Way, I am the Truth, I am the Life. You must constantly put the world aside and look to the Master for all your directions. I call you, My little ones, to holiness. I call you to pure hearts, hearts that are full of love and empty of hate and anger. I call you to guard your hearts and watch that they stay forever holy. You, My precious bride, I want your soul white.

Do you criticize your dear brothers? I gave the last beat of My Heart and the last drop of My blood for the soul you are displeased with. I would die for them this day. Will you not love them for Me? They are so precious to Me!

Quit sizing up your brothers. You do such unloving things in your mind. You do not even know how unloving are your thoughts. You judge your brothers by their exteriors, by their education, by their money. You do not see the beautiful creation of God the Father. He created your brothers just perfectly and He loves His creation. Who are you to criticize His creation? Love your brothers when they are hurting. It is in your loving the hurting ones that they will see the reflection of Christ in you.

Do not hold on to foolish things. One moment and your days on this earth have ended. All that remains is how you loved. Did you love God? Did you love your neighbor? Love is not selfish. It gives of itself. Its whole purpo

Study the crucifix. It is such a comfort! I loved you so. I died for you. I would die for you alone this very day, little ones! Look at Me dying on the cross! The way to Me is to follow Me. Be Christ-like in your ways. You must study Me to know My ways. Do not give in to yourselves. My way is love. Will you be the reflection of the love of God within you? My way is the way of the cross. They persecuted Me, they hurt Me, they tore My flesh and spit on Me. They did this to Me for My love given to all! This world is not your end. You follow My ways and you move as you should toward your goal.

I am Jesus, I am the Son of God. I love you so ardently. I died and shed My blood, My beautiful blood, for love of you. I await you this day, My little ones. I loved you so I remain with you in the Eucharist. I await, I long for you to come and share in our love. I am the tenderest of Hearts. No man can be close to you as I. I love you so. I want to dwell and live within you. I want to fill you with all My love and radiate My love to your beloved brothers. I want to shine from your souls.

Oh, little ones, take Me seriously. I am truly here, begging for you to live in My love.

You are the light that will shine in this dark world. You will light up the darkest night with My love.

The best gift you can give to this world is to busy yourself about your love affair with Me. I love you, My little ones. I love you and I want to share this love with you.

Love your brothers. Do not let Satan talk in your heads and make them wrong and you right. Love them as I have loved you. Do not look at your brothers and size them up. See them with the eyes of God, the beautiful creations of the Father.

Will you love My beloved ones for Me this day, or will you say "no" to My call? Love your brothers in darkness. They need your love. I am calling you to love them for Me this very day. They may scoff at you and persecute you, but you will plant a seed that I Myself will water and give sunlight to. Plant seeds of love. This is the most important seed you will plant, a seed of love. Watch it grow as I provide it with water and nourishment. I will shine on your brothers through you if you stay in My love. Be the light that shines on this dark world. They are crying out for the love of God. They are suffering. They need your love.

Put yourselves aside. Die to yourselves. Live only for the love of God. If the world goes one way, you stay focused on My love. Do not foll

I love you so, little ones. I bring you new life. I fill your hearts with My love. Pray to the Holy Spirit for His gifts. Pray the Our Father. Let My mother mother you as she mothered Me. She loved you so. She suffered so for love of you. She appears to bring you back to her beloved Son. Will you answer her call? She is calling you to put God first in your life. She is calling you to love, love of God, love of one another.

Forgive your brothers. Empty your hearts of hate and anger and let go. Let all your anger go. Give Me your resentments and let Me heal your hearts. Forgiveness is the way to peace. Let go. Do not size up your brothers. Love them all. Pray for them. Unite in My love. Love is a miracle cure. Say you are sorry. Be gentle in your ways. Pray for your needs. I love you, little ones. I am with you this day.

Will you answer the call and love for Me? I love you. I am your beloved Jesus. I would die this day just for you. I love you the same as I did the day I died. Turn to Me and give Me your life. I will care for you and love you. I am your Savior. I am Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God. Let Me live in your heart!

ANN ARBOR, MI — For 63 years, a privately maintained nativity scene has been displayed during the Christmas season on a public median in Warren, Michigan. That 63 year-old tradition was abruptly ended by the Macomb County Road Commission, which controls private displays on public medians in the county, after it received a threatening letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, an atheist organization that has as its aim the removal of all religious symbols from the public square. Rather than stand up to the atheists, the Road Commission ordered the removal of the private nativity scene, in violation of the Constitution.

Last Friday, the Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Warren city resident John Satawa against the Road Commission for its discriminatory decision to ban the private display. The purpose of the lawsuit is to obtain a declaratory judgment that the Road Commission’s actions were unconstitutional and to obtain a court order permitting the nativity display. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Gerald Rosen, Chief Judge of the Eastern District of Michigan. [link to lawsuit]

Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center, commented, “Every Christmas holiday, militant atheists, acting like the Taliban, use the phrase ‘separation of church and state, ’ — nowhere found in our constitution — as a means of intimidating municipalities and schools into removing expressions celebrating Christmas, a National Holiday. Their goal is to cleanse our public square of all Christian symbols. However, the grand purpose of our Founding Fathers and the First Amendment was to protect religion, not eliminate it. Municipalities and schools should be aware that the systematic exclusionof Christmas symbols during the holiday season is itself inconsistent with the Constitution.”

In 1945, St. Anne’s Parish was established in the Village of Warren. During its first year of existence, a set of Christmas statues depicting the nativity scene was donated to the Catholic church. The statues were too large to display on the inside of the church, so some members of the congregation thought it would be a good idea to display the statues and a manger in the center of the village during the Christmas holiday season. The President of the Village at the time granted permission to display the nativity scene on the median between Mound and Chicago Roads in Warren. As a result, a Christmas tradition was born.

Since 1945, a Christmas nativity display has been erected at this location in Warren by John Satawa and members of his family. Satawa took over the responsibility of erecting the nativity display after his father, Mr. Joseph Satawa, passed away in 1965. Over the years, members of the community, private businesses and organizations, including a Boy Scout Troop from St. Anne’s Parish, have assisted in keeping the Christmas tradition alive — a tradition that militant atheists abhor.

The Freedom From Religion’s threatening letter claimed the presence of the nativity display on the public median violated the “constitutional principle of separation of church and state.” [link to letter]

In December 2008, after receiving the threatening letter, the Road Commission demanded Satawa “immediately remove” his nativity display because he had not obtained the appropriate permit to display it on the public median. The Road Commission has a permit application process whereby private citizens and organizations can request permission to display structures on public rights-of-way, such as medians. In fact, the median in question has several structures that were erected by a private organization, including old farming equipment and wagons, to maintain the “village” nature of the city. Consequently, Satawa acquired a permit application from the Road Commission and promptly submitted it so as to obtain a permit to display his nativity scene during the upcoming 2009 Christmas holiday season. Unfortunately, the Road Commission denied the permit, erroneously claiming it must do so because the private nativity scene “clearly displays a religious message” in violation of the “separation of church and state.”

Robert Muise, the Law Center attorney handling the matter, commented, “The United States Supreme Court has long held that all public streets, which includes public medians, are held in the public trust and are properly considered traditional public forums for private speech. Moreover, the Supreme Court has also stated that ‘private religious speech, far from being a First Amendment orphan, is as fully protected under the Free Speech Clause as secular private expression.’ Consequently, by restricting speech because it is religious expression, the Road Commission is imposing a content-based restriction on private speech in a traditional public forum in clear violation of the Constitution.”

The lawsuit alleges that the Road Commission’s content-based restriction on Satawa’s private religious expression violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment and the equal protection guarantee of the Fourteenth Amendment. The lawsuit also alleges that the Road Commissions’ policy decision violates the Establishment Clause by disfavoring religion.

The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes America’s Christian heritage and moral values, including the religious freedom of Christians, time-honored family values, and the sanctity of human life. It supports a strong national defense and an independent and sovereign United States of America. The Law Center accomplishes its mission through litigation, education, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations, and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization. You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website atwww.thomasmore.org.

"The man who burns with the fire of divine love is a son of the Immaculate Heart of Mary..."

Meditation

St. Anthony continues

"... and wherever he goes, he enkindles that flame; he deserves and works with all this strength to inflame all men with the fire of God's love. Nothing deters him; he rejoices in poverty; he labors strenuously; he welcomes hardships; he laughs off false accusations; he rejoices in anguish. He thinks only of how he might follow Jesus Christ and imitate him by his prayers, his labors, his sufferings, and by caring always and only for the g

In the spiritual life we can become discouraged at the Lords' appeal 'Be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect.' It is an ideal attainable only by supernatural intercession. On our own, in mankind's condition, we cannot be perfect. But through grace, the gift of God's presence, we can step by step become perfect. In times of discouragement, the devil uses Christ's ideals as a stumbling block. I can evade this wile of the devil by looking to the example of perfection in the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her goals are much closer to my reach than the divine. Each step towards Her brings me closer to Jesus. She will help me.

Resolution:

Today I will recall the words of St. Anthony Mary Claret:"Nothing will deter me" and I will continue with my Marian devotions of the Angelus, the Rosary, and turning to my Heavenly Mother when in need.

"And what more gratifying and more joyful thing can we do through Jesus than to search for Him in the garden of His delights, at the throne of grace, in this fiery furnace of divine love, which is the Immaculate Heart of His and our Mother? 'Let us go to the throne of grace."

Sunday, October 25, 2009

“Dear children! Also today I bring you my blessing, I bless you all and I call you to grow on this way, which God has begun through me for your salvation. Pray, fast anf joyfully witness your faith, little children, and may your heart always be filled with prayer. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

"Anne" has received permission from her local ordinary, Bishop Leo O'Reilly, Bishop of Kilmore, Ireland, for the spreading of her messages, and has also submitted all her writings to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (see article, "Discernment of Lay Apostolate of Jesus Christ the Returning King" in the Marian Private Revelation section). – Ed.

My dear ones, you worry for your children. I understand. Your worry is a sign that all is right with you because a parent who loves their children feels concern for them.

Usually, children follow the way set out by their parents. This is good if a parent is following the path that leads to Me. Currently, we have trouble with this. Here is why. Many parents have abandoned the path that leads to Me and their children do not have a good example to follow. Perhaps this describes you. If this describes you, it is important that you find the path to Me and begin to climb toward Me. Your children will notice this and you will then be setting a good example.

If you are estranged from your children and do not see them, you will have to make contact with them and explain that you are sorry for any mistakes you made and that you are following My path now. Tell them you hope and pray that they will also follow Me. My grace will be present in this situation as it is in any situation where I am welcome. I will help.

Perhaps you have always followed Me but your children have strayed from the path and are spending their time in the world, away from Me. This causes you grief, I know. Pray for your children but do not become preoccupied with your worry about them. If you are connected to Me, I will be with your children. I will wait for a moment when their hearts are open to Me and I will fill them with graces, healing their wounds and softening their hearts. I do this constantly for holy parents and I will do this for you.

Do not worry that God will abandon your children. A parent's prayers are powerful and these prayers are inspired by Me. Understand that you are working with heaven and with Me to convert these children. In order to console yourself, look at the love that is in your children. Look for any evidence of goodness. Remember the goodness your children showed to you when they were young. There you will find hope of that same goodness returning and growing when your child is converted. Be at peace, dear parents. God loves your children, too. Heaven will not forsake them. I see their wounds and understand what led them away from Me. I, even more than you, have compassion for their pain. I, even more than you, know how to heal their wounds and restore them to wellness, emotionally and spiritually. I am aware of every obstacle to holiness that they face, just as I am aware of every obstacle to holiness you face. I want you to be holy. The best way to help your children is for you to be holy. I ask you today to concentrate on your own holiness. If you do this, I will inspire you with exactly the right course to take to help your child. I keep My promises, as you know. Strive to be holy and I will help your children.

How heavy is the heart of a parent when their child has abandoned morality. This causes a pain that does not heal until the child has returned to God's path. I understand this burden because I carried it myself. Jesus seeks to help all such parents because He also understands this burden. With heaven, the priority is always personal growth in holiness. For this reason, God uses every experience we have on earth to make us holier and to bring us closer to Him. If we are close to God, God can use us powerfully and this helps the family of God. At this time, heaven has a need to bring light to a dark world. It is the darkness of the world that has distracted God's children. Perhaps your child is among these. Jesus is telling you that the best way to help your children is to become holier and holier so that His light can flow into the world through you. When a soul participates with God in this process of renewal through their personal holiness, God experiences great gratitude. God denies that soul nothing and the soul has great intercessory power. If you work for renewal through your attempt to become holier, God will reward you.

Part of the way God will reward you is by reclaiming and healing your children. Believe this, my dear parents. It is true. Jesus promises all lay apostles that He will pursue full conversion of their loved ones. Jesus does not make this promise lightly. Jesus intends to keep this promise. If you work for Jesus, you are doing what you need to be doing for your children.

There is an excellent opportunity for holiness in this situation and that is by practicing trust. When you trust God, you are free to be joyful in His service. If you look at your children and feel distress at their condition, but then turn to God and trust Him with these children, you will know joy. It is good to tell God that you trust Him. It is good for God to hear this because it consoles Him. It is also good for you to hear yourself telling God that you trust Him as you will begin to believe. I am going to give you this advice and then I will pray that you take it. Each time you feel worry over one of your children, say, "Jesus, I trust in you. Take care of this child." If you feel worry for one of your children one hundred times today, say this prayer one hundred times on this day. Believe me. It will work. I will be helping you with this and praying for grace for you. This is a new way to proceed because you are actually fighting the enemy's attempt to distract you with worry. I will be working with you and with heaven in the struggle to reclaim your child so you are not alone in this project. Show Jesus that you understand His great power by trusting Him.

St. Monica

There are good ways to prompt conversion in your children. The best way to prompt conversion in your children is to love them, even in their error. When you are with your children, show them God's love by loving them. Do not focus all the attention on their errors or on the areas where you disagree with them or where you believe God disagrees with them. Instead, shine the brightest lights on the areas where you agree with them, where you feel God agrees with them, and where you see hope of greater goodness. What is it that God is consoled by when He looks at your child? Find this in them and talk about it. Your children will see God in you if they see God's love in you. Treat these loved ones in error the way Jesus treated those who were in error. Jesus was kind and loving. Jesus loved each person on earth individually and totally. You must look at each of your children with the Lord's eyes and love them individually and totally. This can be difficult, particularly if your child is behaving in a way that is not lovable. In fact, it is most clear that you will not feel this love in your heart if your child is behaving in an aggressive or hurtful manner. This is no problem if you work with heaven because Jesus will put His love in your heart. In this way the renewal begins in your family. God's love is abundantly available. God's forgiveness is also abundantly available. Ask God to send forgiveness to you so that when your children look into your eyes, they see only love.

There are those among you who are wondering how to reconcile your feelings about your child's sinfulness to your faith. In other words, you believe perhaps that your child's soul is at risk because of the behaviors being practiced by them. You possibly feel concern about their bitterness or rebelliousness. I will tell you that each family on earth is a model of the bigger family of God. God is telling you through this apostolate that each apostle brings light to the world through their commitment and service. It is the very same in your family. If your child is in darkness and is being deceived into thinking that sinful behavior is acceptable, you have all the more reason to allow God's light to flow through you. Through being exposed to the light, your children will begin to understand what is dark. You should tell your children in the greatest love that you are concerned. Tell them why you are concerned. Give them anything that will help them. Do not allow yourself to be intimidated and stand firm in your beliefs, my friend, but do not ever leave God's love. Most particularly, you must love your children while you are explaining your feelings about behaviors or attitudes that you find concerning. Indeed, it is at this time when you must allow the most love to flow through you. It is not appropriate for you to make judgments, of course. Only God can judge. Only God knows the true nature of the wounds in your child and if your child feels judgment from you, your child may turn further from Christ. Remember that Jesus came not to condemn but to save. Your interactions with a loved one in error must reflect the goal of saving, not condemning.

Oh my dear parent, I feel your concern. I feel your heartbreak. Loving each other with God's love creates vulnerability to this type of hurt. Parents are well familiar with the hurt of rejection. I am cautioning you to love because heaven seeks to pull your children back at this time and heaven does this most successfully through love. Pray and be at peace. You have more help than you can possibly imagine.

My dear parent, how my heart hurts for you. I understand the pain of worrying over a child. I know that you worry because you seek to prevent additional pain for your child, regardless of their age. I know that you see their path and you fear trouble ahead for them. I also see this and I will help you to call your child back to God's path. We do this in great love and gentleness. This is the best way. I will give you my gentleness and with it you will melt your child's heart and create in them a longing for goodness.

There is no circumstance that should cause you to give up hope. I will not allow you to give up hope. Even as you read these words I am obtaining fresh hope for you and with this hope I am also obtaining a spirit of calm that will enable you to serve in peace. We will surround this child for you. We will protect this child. If your child has died and you worry for their salvation, I ask you today to stop. God is all-merciful. Trust in His goodness. The good God could not face a parent who trusted Him and disappoint that parent. Your greatest weapon in the battle to save your children is trust in God. Use this weapon and be at peace because I am your mother and I read your heart effortlessly. I will help you. Your battle is also my battle.

For further information regarding the Lay Apostolate of Jesus Christ the Returning King, or to purchase Heaven Speaks booklets, please contact Direction for Our Times on the Web atwww.directionforourtimes.com, or mail inquiries to the following address: 9000 West 81st St., Justice, IL 60458, U.S.A.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

On Sunday, October 18, 2009, The World Apostolate of Fatima with EWTN, televised One World Praying for Life and Peace. At the end of the prayer service, some visitors were blessed to witness the Miracle of the Sun. For further details on the story, please visit the following link: http://prlog.org/10387463

Satan wants to get you focused on yourself always. Pray to be led by Me. Live for love of Me. Live only to draw all close to My Sacred Heart. Operate for love of your brothers. You will not become prideful or boastful if you constantly focus on bringing others close to Me. That is your goal, to draw others to My Sacred Heart, to tell them of My ardent love, to lead others to My arms. Your job is to promote the love of Jesus. Do not be smart in your speech. Be loving. Operate to draw others close to Me.

Do not be hurried. When someone approaches you, speak of My love. I am sending people to you. A few words from these letters can help a hurting soul. Do not focus on yourself at all. Focus totally on My letters to them. Love, love, love!

If you feel yourself getting irritated at your brother, pray for him and yourself. Pray to act Christ-like.

Do not be rushed. You are going nowhere. The love you give this day is all that matters. How did you preach the gospel in your being this day?

I am the Way. I am the Truth. I am the Life. I am your precious Jesus. Oh, how I love you, little one. Tell all how tender I am and how I wait for them and want to share Myself with them. I am the tenderest of hearts.

Mary is very close to you. She is so loving to her children! We are guarding your every move. Let go into the loving arms of Me and My mother. It is a fact that we are truly by your side, loving you and guarding you. Angels go where you walk. Pray to us constantly. We are always there.

Continue to focus on your union with Me. Pray the prayers, become selfless. You are not in this in any way to promote yourself. Constantly pray the Prayer for Union with Me. You must remain selfless or Satan moves in.

Let each day unfold. Do not be anxious. Let go. You are going nowhere. I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and I walk with you wherever you go. Feel My presence by your side, talk to Me, walk with Me. I am your best friend. Love Me, little one. I love you so and I want to be united to you. No human can be in union with you as I can. Let go and let it happen. Focus on Me and Me alone. You will love others when you are focused on Jesus. Love is from the heart. It is action. Do not hold back your emotions. Love Me, love your brothers!

Oh, how I love you, My sweet, little, beautiful children, created by My Father. You are His handiwork. Honor the creation the Father has made. Be loving to one another.

You are all His creations and I would die this day for your brothers. Guard your thoughts. Only think pure, loving thoughts. If you are troubled, pray. I will handle you and your problems. I love you so.

Father Hardon explains the reason God chose to born of a Virgin, born as true man was to have a human body. He desired to freely embrace pain, suffering and death not only to bear our guilt but also that He may remain with us until the end of time in the Holy Sacrament of His Body and Blood.

"No tongue is able to declare the greatness of the love that Jesus bears to every soul: and therefore this Spouse, when he would leave this earth, in order that his absence might not cause us to forget him, left us as a memorial this Blessed Sacrament, in which he himself remained; for he would not that there should be any other pledge to keep alive our remembrance of him than he himself."

To fulfill the Lord's Passion-ate desire to share in our sufferings and to shoulder our guilt, the Lord required the cooperation of the humble Virgin. As Bl. Teresa of Calcutta says "No Mary No Jesus"

What is the difference between the Lord, the Son of Mary, who walked the earth 2000 years ago healing, teaching, performing miracles and the Lord of the Blessed Sacrament? Father Hardon says the only difference resides in us. He is the same.

"This Sacrament really contains You, O my God, You whom the Angels adore, in whose presence the Spirits and mighty Powers tremble. Oh! if we could only see You clearly as they do, with what reverence would we approach this Sacrament, with what humility would we receive You."

St. Angela of Foligno

Resolution:

If I can make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament today, I will recall the Real Presence of the Lord is no different today than it was 2000 years ago.

If I cannot visit, I will call upon the Lord's presence in the Tabernacle and make a Spiritual communion. In prayer, after my spiritual Communion, I will remember the only difference resides in me.

Friday, October 23, 2009

AS I prayed this morning, I sensed the Lord offering a tremendous gift to this generation: complete absolution.

If this generation would just turn to me, I would overlook all her sins, even those of abortion, cloning, pornography and materialism. I would wipe away their sins as far as the east is from the west, if only this generation would turn back to me…

God is offering the very depths of His Mercy to us. It is because, I believe, we are on the threshold of His Justice.

In my travels across the United States, words have been growing in my heart during the past few weeks: The wrath of God. (Because of the urgency and at times difficulty people have in understanding this subject, my reflections today are slightly longer. I want to be faithful not only to the meaning of these words, but also to their context.) Our modern, tolerant, politically correct culture detests such words… "an Old Testament concept," we like to say. Yes, it is true, God is slow to anger and rich in mercy. But that’s exactly the point. He is slow to anger, but eventually He can and does become angry. The reason is that Justice demands it.

MADE IN HIS IMAGE

Our understanding of anger is generally flawed. We tend to think of it as an eruption of temper or rage, tending to emotional or physical violence. And even when we see it in its justified forms it makes us somewhat fearful. Nevertheless, we do admit that there is room for just anger: when we see an injustice committed, we too become angry. Why then do we permit ourselves to feel justly angry, and yet do not permit this of God in whose image we are created?

God’s response is one of patience, one of mercy, one that willingly overlooks the sin so as to embrace and heal the sinner. If he does not repent, does not accept this gift, then the Father must discipline this child. This too is an act of love. What good surgeon allows the cancer to grow so as to spare the patient the knife?

He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him takes care to chastise him. (Proverbs 13:24)

For whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges. (Hebrews 12:6)

How does He discipline us?

Endure your trials as "discipline" (v.7)

Ultimately, if these trials fail to correct our destructive behavior, God’s anger is aroused and He permits us to receive the just wages our free will has demanded: the justice or wrath of God.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

THE WRATH OF GOD

There is no such thing as the "God of the Old Testament" (ie. the God of wrath), and the "God of the New Testament" (the God of Love.) As St. Paul tells us,

Jesus, who is both God and man, has not changed. He is the one given the authority to judge mankind (John 5:27). He continues to exercise mercy and justice. And this is His judgment:

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him. (John 3:36)

Jesus has freely taken the punishment for sin that is due us. Our free response is to accept this gift by confessing our sin, repenting of it, and obeying His commandments. That is, one cannot say He believes in Jesus if His life is lived in opposition to Him. To reject this gift is to remain under the judgment pronounced in Eden:separation from Paradise. This is the wrath of God.

But there is also that wrath which is to come, that divine judgment which will cleanse a particular generation of evil and bind Satan in hell for a "thousand years."

OF THIS GENERATION

This generation is not only rejecting Christ, it is committing the most heinous sins with perhaps an unparalleled defiance and arrogance. We in the former Christian nations and beyond have heard the law of Christ, yet are abandoning it in an apostasy that is unprecedented in scope and in numbers of apostates. Repeated warnings through the forces of nature do not appear to be moving our nations toward repentance. So tears of blood are falling from Heaven on numerous icons and statues—a terrible harbinger of the Great Trial which lies before us.

When my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, lo it shall come down in judgment… (Isaiah 34:5)

Already, God has begun to purify the earth of wickedness. The sword has fallen through mysterious and incurable diseases, terrible disasters, and war. Often it is a spiritual principle at work:

Make no mistake: God is not mocked, for a person will reap only what he sows… (Gal 6)

The cleansing of the earth has begun. But we must understand that just as in ordinary times, when the innocent are sometimes taken with the wicked, so too will it be during the period of purification. No one but God can judge souls and no human being has the supreme wisdom to understand why this or that person suffers or dies. Until the end of the world the just and the unjust alike shall suffer and die. Yet the innocent (and the repentant) will not be lost and their reward will be great in paradise.

The wrath of God is indeed being revealed from heaven against every impiety and wickedness of those who suppress the truth by their wickedness. (Romans 1:18)

THE ERA OF PEACE

As I have written in The Coming Era of Peace, a time is approaching when the earth will be cleansed of all evil and the earth rejuvenated for a period which Scripture refers to, symbolically, as "a thousand years of peace." Last year when I traveled through the United States on a concert tour, the Lord began to open my eyes regarding the corruption which has penetrated every layer of society. I began to see how our economy has been destroyed by materialism and greed… "This must come down" I felt the Lord saying. I began to see how our food industry has been destroyed by chemicals and processing… "This too must begin again." Political structures, technological advances, even architectural structures—there was suddenly a word about each of them: "These will no longer be…" Yes, there was a definite sense that the Lord is preparing to cleanse the earth. I have meditated upon and sifted these words for a year, and only publish them now under my spiritual director’s guidance.

They speak, it seems, of a new era. The early Church Fathers believed and taught this:

So, the blessing foretold undoubtedly refers to the time of His Kingdom, when the just will rule on rising from the dead; when creation, reborn and freed from bondage, will yield an abundance of foods of all kinds from the heaven’s dew and the fertility of the earth, just as the seniors recall. Those who saw John, the Lord’s disciple , [tell us] that they heard from him how the Lord taught and spoke about these times… —St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Church Father (140–202 A.D.); Adversus Haereses, Irenaeus of Lyons, V.33.3.4, The Fathers of the Church, CIMA Publishing Co.; (St. Irenaeus was a student of St. Polycarp, who knew and learned from the Apostle John and was later consecrated bishop of Smyrna by John.)

St. Justin Martyr wrote:

I and every other orthodox Christian feel certain that there will be a resurrection of the flesh followed by a thousand years in a rebuilt, embellished, and enlarged city of Jerusalem, as was announced by the Prophets Ezekiel, Isaias and others… A man among us named John, one of Christ’s Apostles, received and foretold that the followers of Christ would dwell in Jerusalem for a thousand years, and that afterwards the universal and, in short, everlasting resurrection and judgment would take place. —St. Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, Ch. 81, The Fathers of the Church, Christian Heritage

The wrath of God, then, will also be an act of love—an act of mercy to preserve those who believe and obey Him; an act of compassion to heal creation; and an act of Justice to establish and declare the sovereignty of Jesus Christ, Name above all names, King of kings, and Lord of lords, until Christ finally puts all enemies beneath His feet, the last being death itself.

If such a day and era is close, it explains the heavenly tears and pleadings of God’s Mother in her many apparitions during these times, sent to warn us and call us back to her Son. She who knows His Love and Mercy better than anyone, also knows that His Justice must come. She knows that when He comes to put an end to evil, He is acting, ultimately, with divine Mercy.

Give glory to the Lord, your God, before it grows dark; before your feet stumble on darkening mountains; before the light you look for turns to darkness, changes into black clouds. If you do not listen to this in your pride, I will weep in secret many tears; my eyes will run with tears for the Lord’s flock, led away to exile. (Jer 13:16-17)

They cried out to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of their wrath has come and who can withstand it? (Rev 6:16-17)

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MARY, OUR MOTHER

Mother Mary said at Fatima: "My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the sure way which will lead you to God." With that in mind, I will try to post each day something about Our Blessed Lady, items about the Holy Roman Catholic Church, and public domain Catholic books too! I pray you enjoy my ministry!Below is a slide show of pictures that I have collected: Tears of Mary!

Have a look!

Jeremiah 14:17; 15:18

"Let my eyes shed down tears night and day, and let them not cease, because the Virgin daughter of my people is afflicted with an exceedingly grievous evil. / Why is my sorrow become perpetual, and my wound desperate so as to refuse to be healed?"

Ubi Petrus, ibi ecclesia, et ubi ecclesia vita eterna

Where Peter is, there is the Church, where the Church is there is Eternal Life

About Me

I'm 79, formally married to Marianne for 52 years, [Marianne passed away to the Lord on August 9th, 2013 after suffering a stroke and two cardiac arrests.] We have 4 children (plus 2 in heaven-stillborn) and nine grandchildren plus 1 Step-grandchild. I'm a Korean War Vet, U.S. Navy; I was a Motorcycle News Courier for U.P.I., and WNEW Chanel 5 TV News, during 60's & 70's; a Lieutenant in the Wycoff Hospital Police in the 90's. I was ordained a Permanent Deacon for the Brooklyn Diocese on April 25, 1987 and served in four parishes before relocating to Florida in 2002. I'm still incardinated for Brooklyn Diocese. There was no parish in my town so we traveled to either Mt. Dora or Eustis for Mass. My oldest son and daughter, John and Anne, lived near us but the rest of the gang are up North in New York and Pennsylvania. We have now relocated to a northern state and my ministry is mostly on the Internet with some blogs and groups. I also assist the pastor at the local Catholic church. I owe my life and conversion/calling to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel de Garabandal, who has brought me to her Son Jesus. I am Their servant and slave! I only want to do the Will of God and glorify the Most Blessed Trinity with my life!

My Friend Archbishop David Milne

PSALM 71 SPEAKS TO MY HEART

Forsake Me Not When My Strength Is Spent

In you, O Lord, do I take refuge;let me never be put to shame!In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;incline your ear to me, and save me!

Be to me a rock of refuge,to which I may continually come;you have given the command to save me,for you are my rock and my fortress.

Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.For you, O Lord, are my hope,my trust, O Lord, from my youth.Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;you are he who took me from my mother's womb.My praise is continually of you.

I have been as a portent to many,but you are my strong refuge.My mouth is filled with your praise,and with your glory all the day.Do not cast me off in the time of old age;forsake me not when my strength is spent.

For my enemies speak concerning me;those who watch for my life consult togetherand say, “God has forsaken him;pursue and seize him,for there is none to deliver him.”

O God, be not far from me;O my God, make haste to help me!May my accusers be put to shame and consumed;with scorn and disgrace may they be coveredwho seek my hurt.

But I will hope continuallyand will praise you yet more and more.My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,of your deeds of salvation all the day,for their number is past my knowledge.

With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come;I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

O God, from my youth you have taught me,and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

So even to old age and gray hairs,O God, do not forsake me,until I proclaim your might to another generation,your power to all those to come.Your righteousness, O God,reaches the high heavens.You who have done great things,O God, who is like you?

You who have made me see many troubles and calamitieswill revive me again;from the depths of the earthyou will bring me up again.You will increase my greatnessand comfort me again.

I will also praise you with the harpfor your faithfulness, O my God;I will sing praises to you with the lyre,O Holy One of Israel.My lips will shout for joy,when I sing praises to you;my soul also, which you have redeemed.

And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long, for they have been put to shame and disappointedwho sought to do me hurt.

Welcome to my Marian Blog

As you can tell from my postings, I'm in love with Mother Mary, who has taken me under her mantle of protection, has taught and led me to Her Divine Son, Jesus; Who in turn has led me, in the Holy Spirit, to the Eternal Father! Two prayers that I say often tell who I am:Come O Holy Spirit; Come by means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Your well-beloved Spouse.

O Most Holy Trinity, I adore Thee. My God, my God, I love Thee in the Most Blessed Sacrament.